Section 5 :: Deviant Behaviors Part I (March 27 – April 5)

We have arrived at the final section of the course! After discussing deviant bodies and minds, we are ready to talk about behaviors that are considered deviant, to some degree, by mainstream society. The readings over the next few week are going to make you laugh, cringe, and perhaps shake your head a time or two. The more open you are, and the more willing you are to at least try to see everyone as “normal” for a moment (or at least more human than they are often treated) the more you may find yourself engaged with the stories and perspectives you are going to read, watch and hear. Have fun with this section, keeping your sociological imagination in high gear, and your critical thinking skills at full capacity.

March 27: We begin this exploration by discussing how two central social constructions impact how deviant we perceive sex to be—age, and gender. The “double standard” of slut vs. stud when it comes to gender is well known, but we are going to push even further into our understanding of how gender impacts our perceptions of deviance when it comes to sexual behaviors and practices. We are also going to discuss age, and how our perceptions of what it means to be certain ages also impacts our perceptions of what is deviant when it comes to sex. As you are reading about gender and age, you will also be exploring some of the most controversial questions about sexuality. How do groups (like women, or boy-loving men) work around the stigmas associated with their sexuality? Can pornography be feminist, or pro-female? Does one sexual encounter with a man make a man "gay" (and have you noticed we don’t ask that same question of women?)? What are the limits of the language and labels we use for sexuality? For today you will read the following:

• Read "Everyone Knows Who the Sluts Are”: How Young Women Get around the Stigma by Jennifer L. Dunn, available in your textbook.
  
• Read The World According to NAMBLA: Accounting for Deviance by Mary DeYoung (available on Angel)
• Read What is Feminist Porn? by sex educator and feminist pornographer Tristan Taormino
• Read Mostly Straight, Most of the Time by developmental psychologist Ritch C. Savin-Williams and Kenneth M. Cohen, published at The Good Men Project
  

On March 29 our two themes will be public sex, and the difficulties with legislating behaviors. We start with a groundbreaking article from author and activist Patrick Califia, on how laws draw a line in the sand, and impact our perceptions of sex. To keep you thinking about the complexities in deciding what is "public" and "private" using the example of bathrooms, I am also having you read a recent piece by author Ivan Coyote. It is a short piece; it is her an open letter to women that question her presence in bathrooms. Sex in Public Places offers more information about, and tips for, the practice.

You will also be reading an article by a peace and social justice activist Rubby Diesu who says the LGBTQ community is misguided in their feverish campaigning for “equality” in the form of same-sex marriage and the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Diesu asks: is that what we should be fighting for? For the LGBTQ community to give themselves up to heteronormativity? Can we ever be "equal" if we are supposed to assimilate? Think about what Califia says about the limits of laws when you read that article. In any social movement asking the public to change their perceptions of them, there will be some parts of the community that insist we have to focus on policies, and let social change trickle down. There is also usually a faction that says we need to change the social climate and culture, which will change policy, but also have more systemic changes in the broader culture. These articles will speak to that debate.

• Read Public Sex: The Culture of Radical Sex by Pat Califia, available on Angel.
• Read Dear Lady in the Women’s Washroom by Ivan Coyote
• Read Sex in Public Places from the SexInfo site hosted and maintained by sexuality students at the University of California, Santa Barbara. I think I have found my calling!
  
• Read Why I Don’t Want Equality by Robby Diesu

On April 3 we will ask the question: is sex work deviant? Is all sex work deviant? Does it depend on the type of work you are doing? Where do you draw the line? Based on behavior? Location? What happens when sex workers meet and organize?

• Read Exotic Dancers: ‘Where am I Going to Stop?’ by Jennifer K. Wesely, available in your textbook
• Check out the series "Stripped" by Mexico City photographer Alicia Vera
• Read Humanizing Sex Workers? by blogger Margo DeMello on Sociological Images
  
• Read The H Word: What the H by Melissa Petro at Bitch Media
  
• Read U.S. Sex Worker Advocates Expose Human Rights Violations Before UN by Cara at the feminist blog The Curvature
  
• In class that day we will be watching the film Live Nude Girls Unite! (remember your Film Review is due by 9:00pm April 8)

April 5: Who says monogamy is the only valid option for a relationship? Why are we so stuck on monogamy as the ultimate type of relationship? Are there other options, that could be just—if not more—valid? Is the difficulty in other formats of relationship due to them being less valid, or due to the pressure of monogamy being the norm? Be prepared to debate the topic in class--I really want to hear what arguments stand out to you in these pieces.

• Check out the image The Varieties of Intimate Relationships on the web site Information is Beautiful
  
• Read Bigger Love by Jim Catano in Salt Lake City's alternative newspaper City Weekly
  
• Read the NY Times Editorial Married, With Infidelities by Mark Oppenheimer
• Listen to Dan Savage--columnist, activist and editor of Seattle’s The Stranger--discuss “It’s Not Easy Being Non-Monogamous” (12:15) on Kinsey Confidential from The Kinsey Institute, named after the (in)famous sex researcher Alfred Kinsey
  

Section 3 :: Deviant Bodies (Part I: Feb 7 & Feb 9)

Now we begin the part of the class I enjoy the most! For the rest of the semester we are going to take on a new topic every day or two. It is going to move FAST, and you are going to have to read/watch quite a bit, but it is worth every moment of your time. Be ready for interesting class discussions--bring your questions and your perspective, and be prepared to talk!

Here are some definitions from the WSU Gender Identity/Expression and Sexual Orientation Resource Center (GIESORC) to help you navigate the rest of the discussions on gender and sexuality. Be sure you know these terms!

For Section 3 of the course, we are going to spend 2.5 weeks talking about Deviant Bodies. As we will discuss this semester, some people are labeled "deviant" because of their actions, and some people are labeled because of their identities. In this section, we will be learning about and discussing people who have been labeled "deviant" because of something about their body or embodiment.

On February 7, we will begin this conversation by learning about how the concept of "sex," just like gender, is a social construction. We have been raised to believe that sex is simple--there are men and there are women, there is a penis or a vagina. As you will read, and we will watch and discuss, it is more complicated than that. If you take all of the components that scientists use to determine "sex" we find out that male and female are umbrella terms for all sorts of possibilities. As the image below suggests, instead of thinking of things like gender, sex and sexuality as binaries, it can be useful to see them each as a separate continuum. Be sure to read Biologist Anne Fausto-Sterling's short and fascinating article on sex and intersex conditions (you will notice she uses the terminology hermaphrodite--that is now outdated). Fausto-Sterling has written several interesting books on the topic, if you are interested, including the wonderful Sexing the body: gender politics and the construction of sexuality.

Image source: http://itspronouncedmetrosexual.com/2011/11/breaking-through-the-binary-gender-explained-using-continuums/

Required:

• Read The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female Are Not Enough by Anne Fausto-Sterling (available on Angel).
• Read Alice Dreger, Gender Bender by Danielle Magnuson on the Ms. Blog.
• Spend some time exploring the Intersex Roadshow blog to read the stories and words of some members of the Intersex community.
• Watch the 2:48 clip called Reteaching Gender and Sexuality, shown below. It was made by youth in the Seattle area, and they are asking us to rethink the way we categorize, label and (de)value gender and sexuality.
• In class, we will be watching the HBO documentary Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She. The film explores the limits of a male/female binary by discussing transgender children and adults, the intersex community, and members of third genders in various parts of the world.

NOTE: Remember you need to complete a film review after each film we watch in class. See you syllabus and the Film Review blog post for details!

On February 9 we will continue talking about the limits of the gender binary with our exploration of the transgender and gender non-conforming communities. We will first read an except from activist Leslie Feinberg's book Transgender Warriors to give you a little history on transgressing the gender binary. We will then read several articles with varying perspectives on aspects of the transgender community, and watch a clip on the history of "Gender Identity Disorder" as a mental illness. We will discuss more about the DSM and mental illness in Section 4 of the course.

Some concepts to think about when we discuss transgender issues, especially in how they are often framed as a mental health issue, are achieved and ascribed statuses. As we have discussed, we all have a host of statuses, including our master status. All of us have achieved statuses (social positions we have "earned" or for which we have been chosen, such as our education status or status as criminal), as well as ascribed statuses (the ones we are assigned at birth, or assumed involuntarily, such as age, race or class). How do we treat people differently, based on if we assume their "deviance" is an achieved or ascribed status? Think about this example: in U.S. surveys, when respondents are asked if they think being gay is a choice, or an inborn trait, those that think it is inborn are more likely to support gay rights. Are we more forgiving when we think someone "can't help" their deviant status (ascribed, instead of achieved)?

Also think about language. People who are marginalized or seen as deviant in the culture are often told they need to "get a sense of humor" when they do not like being the butt of a joke, or dehumanized. Think about terms like "fag", "you're so gay", "tranny" or "that's retarded." Are those just innocuous phrases, or do they reproduce deviant statuses?

Required:

• Read the article Transgender Warriors by Leslie Feinberg (available on Angel).
• Read the blog post Okay, I Give Up, You're Right... by Ashley Love on the blog Trans Forming Media.
• Read the blog post Why Does The Media Show Transgender Children More Sympathetically? by Emily Manuel on the blog Raising My Boychick
• Read the article I'm Retiring The Word 'Tranny...' Will You Join Me? by Kelly Osbourne. Yes, that Kelly Osbourne.
• Watch the following clip (about 11 minutes) that talks about Gender Identity Disorder and the Diagnostic Statistical Manual. As it is now, if you want to take hormones or have any surgeries to alter your assigned sex, you must be diagnosed with this disorder, and you are then officially considered mentally ill. Is this the best approach?